Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 7/7/2022
WEST SPRINGFIELD — For the fourth year in a row the West Springfield Garden Club has lined the streets of the town with large planters filled with pink and white petunias.
Barrels of lush flowers have appeared at 15 locations throughout town such as the North End Bridge rotary, along Elm Street, in front of the post office and Town Hall, or near Sorrento’s restaurant. Thanks to the efforts of the West Springfield Garden Club, in collaboration with members of the community, 100 barrels of flowers have been placed all over town.
“The Garden Club’s mission is to beautify West Springfield,” said club chair Betty McCabe-Pandolfi.
The Garden Club makes this possible by soliciting sponsors for every barrel. A donation of $120 buys the barrel and a sign acknowledging each sponsor. The list of this year’s sponsors includes a variety of local officials, community members, clubs, and local businesses.
“The Garden Club did a phenomenal job beautifying West Springfield,” said barrel sponsor and City Council President Edward Sullivan. “Words cannot describe how beautiful they are. I think they did a great job. And the color selection really pops.”
Sullivan added that he does not have a “green thumb,” but the flowers are cared for by a trained professional. Al Fini, owner of Fini’s Plant Farm in Feeding Hills, who does the legwork.
“Between planning and execution, it is pretty much a year-round activity,” said Fini, who also offers his services to Agawam’s Beautification Committee, which has a similar program. Fini works with his son Paul Fini to provide almost 200 flower barrels to Agawam and West Springfield.
“We order the cuttings in September for maximum discount. The cuttings are rooted in January and potted into large plugs usually before the end of March. Three weeks later, we plant them into 6-inch pots to get maximum root growth. Around Mother’s Day, they are planted into the inner barrels. Usually [at] the beginning of June, they are put out and into a decorative barrel throughout the town,” said Fini.
Over the summer, the Finis convert their truck into a 500-gallon watering machine, and make the rounds two to three times a week to keep the barrels adequately watered. The plants are also fertilized once a week and are sprayed with insecticide as necessary.
Mayor William Reichelt, who also sponsored a barrel, praised the beautification effort.
“The Garden Club has done so much to make our town, and specifically?our downtown, a much more attractive and welcoming place. Their work is really only warming up, too, as they have more plans to improve the entryways to town around the Common and jumpstart our tree planting program. I love what they do and they are a great asset to the community,” he said.
Other sponsors of the barrels include Mama Mia’s Pizzeria & Trattoria (Memorial Avenue), Chapter Two Book Club (South Boulevard), and the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 866 (Vietnam Veterans Memorial). Additionally, half of the petunia planters were dedicated by community members “in memory of” a loved one. The parents of Sienna Rae Snowden, who would have turned 20 this year, sponsored a barrel in her memory. Another honors Tony Di Giore, who served on the West Springfield Arts Council for over 50 years.
A full list of flower barrel locations and sponsors is available on townofwestspringfield.org. Sponsorship slots for this year are sold out, but anyone interested in sponsoring a barrel for next year should contact the West Springfield Garden Club through its website wsgardenclub.org.